Our U.S. Team

Mollie joins Allies with an extensive background in business, education, and faith-based service organizations. She raised her family as a business expat in Malaysia, China, Japan, and Russia. This gave her a unique perspective on the world and a passion for helping exploited and under-resourced women and children. She taught middle school Bible and history in Moscow, Russia, led cross-cultural community Bible studies, and served the often forgotten with food and compassion.

Mollie holds an MBA from Willamette University. She and her husband, Jeff, have two married children, and attend Gateway Church where they lead a small group. Mollie also fights for the unborn by serving as an executive board member for a Christian crisis pregnancy center. Mollie loves to pray and is excited to use her experience to help orphans build a better future.

Carla had an unexpected, sudden interest to learn about Russia’s history in the mid-1990s which then led to her studying the Russian language. Many years later, she felt an urgency to study Russian even more and soon after was at a retreat where a woman shared about her experience traveling to Russia with Allies the previous year. That connection paved the way for Carla to meet Chris and take her first trip to Russia with Allies in 2013. She has since journeyed on more than a dozen trips to Russia, Moldova, and Peru.

Carla was born and raised in Japan to missionary parents and has worked as an alliance sales manager at American Airlines for more than 25 years. She lives in Bedford and attends Ash Lane United Methodist Church, formerly Euless First United Methodist Church. Carla has a heart for helping people and takes the opportunity to do so whenever she can through her church and work.

Originally from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, Heather graduated from Radford University with a bachelor’s degree in print journalism. She worked as a reporter for newspapers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia before becoming a stay at home mom for many years.

Heather and her five children live in Mansfield where they attend Life.Church Mansfield and enjoy serving the local community by volunteering at the library and nursing home. After a 2011 mission trip serving orphans in Haiti, Heather’s heart for orphans grew exponentially. She is honored to use her writing and editing background for an organization that is doing so much for children and others around the world.

Mike was born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has worked with Allies for more than five years. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a B.A. in radio, television, and film where he also studied the Russian language and Russian history and literature. Since his college days, he hoped to one day travel to Russia and joining the Allies team in 2018 gave him that opportunity. Mike has since taken trips to Russia and Moldova with Allies and said it was very special to meet Allies volunteers in those areas.

Nick Williams, Creative Thinker and Project Director at Beckett Marketing, Inc., has provided web development and creative services for Allies since 2012. He provides guidance and execution of design, marketing, data, and web-related services. Born and raised in Texas, Nick graduated from Abilene Christian University with a B.A. and dual major in advertising and graphic design.

He has a passion to serve where there is a need including helping the homeless, orphans, and widows. He and his wife, Rebecca, have been on short-term mission trips to Honduras, Philippines, Germany, Hungary, and others. They also served as houseparents for Christ's Haven for Children. Nick loves the outdoors, fishing, and traveling. He and Rebecca live in Granbury with their three sons and golden retriever.

Shannon was born and raised in Oklahoma and earned a B.S. in psychology from Northeastern State University. She has worked in business development for over 16 years, but is excited to work for Allies so she can now use her skills to help others. She has been a volunteer for the Team Tony Cancer Foundation for several years and was a counselor for non-profit youth services, teaching adolescents independent living and various behavioral health skills.

Shannon has a grown daughter and one grandbaby, and lives in Waxahachie with her dog, Cowboy. She attends First United Methodist Church in Waxahachie.

Debbie has been passionate about volunteerism and missions since she was a young adult. She and her husband, Bob, have taken countless mission trips both at home and abroad and have been members of Rush Creek Church for more than 20 years. Most recently, they opened their home to two Russian students during the first Omsk Student Cultural Exchange Program hosted by Allies in 2019.

Debbie has also been an interior designer for 34 years and owned her own design company for 28 years, but is excited to be working where her passion is by helping to empower orphans. Debbie and Bob live in Mansfield and have five children and nine grandchildren. .

Raised in Fort Worth, Joy graduated from Texas Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in English. She became an Allies supporter after attending the Color Their World banquet in 2016. As a life-long learner, she is passionate about educating and empowering orphans, and she feels honored and humbled to be a member of the Allies staff.

Joy and her two children live in Mansfield, and they are active members of Life.Church Mansfield. Joy is a coffee addict, marathoner, and Anglophile who enjoys traveling, reading, and volunteering at her children’s schools.

Rachel grew up in Mansfield and earned a B. A. in psychology from the University of North Texas in 2019 and a master’s degree in psychology with a concentration in child and adolescent psychology in 2022.

She has a heart for community service and helping those in need. She recently became a member of the Mansfield Rotary Club, and was involved in many community projects over the years including Meals on Wheels, the Flag Project, and Habitat for Humanity. She also volunteers at Cook Children’s Hospital. Rachel has a dog, Trixie, and likes to spend time with her family, read, do arts and crafts, and is learning to play the violin.

Sharon grew up in Itasca, Texas and attended Texas Tech University and Perkins School of Theology. She served as a pastor and ministry leader in the Mansfield community for the past 30 years, serving 10 of those years leading ministry to students. She also served as executive pastor, discipleship pastor, missions and serving pastor, and congregational care pastor.

Sharon and her husband, Ron, have been supporters of Allies since 2012, when Sharon traveled with Allies to Russia in its first year. They live in Mansfield and have three adult sons and one amazing grandson. Sharon and Ron are active members of Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington, where Sharon serves as an associate pastor.

A native Texan, Jay was born in Fort Worth and attended Texas Wesleyan University majoring in business. Jay worked as a general contractor and CEO of Jay Jenkins Custom Homes and has more than 25 years experience working in sales and management.

His heart for helping orphans was ignited when his wife, Suzan, came to work at Allies in 2020. Jay is humbled and excited to join the Allies team and play a part in showing leaders how their churches can bring the hope of Jesus Christ to orphans throughout the world. He has a passion for serving God and is on the prayer ministry team at Gateway Church in North Richland Hills. He and Suzan have four children and four grandchildren.